Tuesday, January 29, 2013

FRANCE CONQUERS TIMBUKTU | Weekly World News

French forces took Timbuktu and put an end to 10 months of al Qaeda rule in the historic desert city.

French forces took Timbuktu and put an end ?to ten months of al Qaeda rule in the historic desert city.

The French rolled into with red wine and baguettes and within a mere ten hours the city of Timbuktu was singing Josephine Baker songs and putting on their own burlesque shows.

Helicopters maintained watch over the city, which houses a treasure trove of antiquities and historical documents. As of nightfall Monday, there had been no combat. ?But many of the local citizens were seen wearing berets.

The Obama administration had agreed to provide air and ground support, but the French declined. ??We can fight without Americans. ?We are stronger than Americans,? said French leader Gerard Depardieu.

A French military convoy makes its way through the desert towards Timbuktu

?The town has been effectively taken without any clashes,? Col. Thierry Burkhard, a French military spokesman, said at a briefing in Paris. ??We will be setting up cafes and piano bars within days.?

french_timbuktuA

The assault came less than two days after French forces took control of the airport and surrounding areas of the northern city of Gao, one of the cities that militants have occupied since they seized control of Mali?s north in April.

Here are the French leaders at a meeting in Timbuktu:

french_timbuktuF

Timbuktu, which was a major Saharan trading hub in the Middle Ages and has attracted travelers for centuries, endured 10 months of rule by militias backed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM.

French Soldiers face al Qaeda:

french_timbuktuE

The majority of the city?s 50,000 residents have fled, said Malian Ministry of Defense spokesman Diarran Kone. ?Woody Allen, however, is planning on heading to the city to make his next film.

To retake Timbuktu, a French plane landed paratroopers along the city?s northern side and then they all sat on a hill and smoked cigarettes, which confused the citizens of Timbuktu. ?And then? the French pulled out their baguettes.

The rest is history?

french_timbuktuD

?

Like this:

Be the first to like this.

Source: http://weeklyworldnews.com/headlines/54332/france-conquers-timbuktu/

kim kardashian anderson cooper kim kardashian pregnant chicago bears adrian peterson tony romo weather

No comments:

Post a Comment